Alan Durkota

I have always been interested in aviation; my grandfather was stationed at the Pensacola NAS, during World War One. My father built several airplanes and flying with him was a frequent experience.

After completing my education as an engineer I wanted to be involved with aviation. Initially I helped in the development of radar systems for U.S. military aircraft but the majority of my career was working at Sikorsky Aircraft on various helicopter programs. As a young man, I was fortunate to have spoken with Igor Sikorsky many times about Helicopters and early developments in aviation around the world. This sparked my interest in early Russian aviation and my writing a book. The Imperial Russian Air Service. Famous pilots and aircraft of World War One.

With the success of my book I next found myself doing some work for the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington D. C. building display models and helping with gallery displays.

After completing my next book, Medal of Honor - Aviators of World War One I met Medal of Honor recipient, United States Marine Corps aviator James Swett. James said he enjoyed reading my book very much. He also strongly suggested I should write a series of books detailing all the aviation related Medal of Honor recipients. I agreed with his sentiment so at that point, my writing one book turned into me writing a series of books. James Swett’s combat actions are described in volume 4.

Detailing all the aviation related Medal of Honor recipients was a great suggestion because as I continue working on this series, I find myself amazed by the actions of these aviators. At this point in time, I have completed 6 volumes which you can see on my Amazon author’s page. I am very proud of the fact that copies of these 6 books have been entered into the collection of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. I think that honor speaks to the value of this effort.

Thank you for reading my author biography, and taking the time to look at my books. I hope you will consider buying them for your collection. I believe you will find them very interesting reads and I am also sure you will be astounded by the actions of these aviators too. Many clearly illustrate how one individual can change the course of history.